Electrical connector socket



. Oct. 22, 1963 F. R. BONHOMME 3,107,966

' ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR socmr Original Filed Feb. 24, 1959 2 Sheets-Shee t 1 Oct. 22, 1963 F. R. BONHOMME ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR SOCKET Original Filed Feb. 24, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII;Z,

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INVENIT'OR A TTURNEY United States Patent F 3,107,966 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR SQCKET Francois Robert Bonhomnie, Conrbevoie, France, as-

signor to Curtiss wright Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Continuation of application Ser. No. 795,631, Feb. 24,

1959. This application Dec. 21, 1961, er. No.

Ciaims priority, application France Feb. 28, 1958 11 Claims. (Ci. 339-441) The present invention relates to sockets for use in cooperation with plug-in members, and in particular to the type including a multiplicity of contact wires arranged to be ti htly applied by deformation against said plug-in member when said member is driven into said socket, so as to ensure a good electrical or thermal contact between said socket and said member.

The object of my invention is to provide a socket of this type in which the contact wires are easier to fix in position and function better than in similar devices used up to this time.

For this purpose, each wire i stretched between two holding elements in the form of circles fixed with respect to each other, having their respective planes parallel to each other and their respective centers located on a straight line at right angles to said planes, the wires being located on straight lines which are generatrices of the same family of a hyperboloid of revolution about said axis, containing said two circles and having its throat located between said circles.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings given merely by way of example and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical view illustrating the geometrical concept on which my invention is based.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show, respectively in perspective view, partly in section, and in end view, an electric socket made according to a first embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 4, which shows on a larger scale a portion of FIG. 3, illustrates the deformation of a contact wire under the effect of plug-in members of different diameters.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show two successive steps in the manufacture of the socket of FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 7 illustrates the manufacture of a supporting member for use in the method illustrated by FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 8 shows the manufacture of a socket according to a modification.

FIG. 9 shows, in axial section, a thermal contact socket made according to my invention.

The socket according to a preferred form of my invention includes a multiplicity of contact wires each of which is stretched between two points 1 and 2 located respectively on the circumstances of two circles C and C in nonconforming positions. The centers of these circles are 0 and 0 respectively and their radiuses are R, and R respectively. Centers 0 and 0 are located on an axis XY at right angles to the parallel planes of circles C and C which planes are at a fixed distance d from each other. Circles C and C are relatively fixed and cannot rotate with respect to each other. The radius of circle C passing through point 2 makes with the projection, on the plane of said circle C of the radians of circle C passing through point 1 a fixed angle A thus defining the aforesaid non-conformance and the straight lines along which the respective wires are located may be obtained from one another by rotation about axis XY.

, 3,107,966 Patented Oct. 22, 1963 ice In other words, the wires extend along generatrices of one of the two families of generatrices of a hyperboloid of revolution about axis XY, passingthrough said circles C and C and having its throat located between the respective planes of said circles so that the wires, taken together, constitute a socket of hyperboloid form.

In FIG. 1, it has been supposed that radius R is greater than radius R but, as a rule, circles C and C have the same radius R (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and their centers are designated by 0.

Of course, whereas on FIG. 1 a single wire has been shown at 3, the structure according to the invention, as illustrated by FIGS. 2, 3 and 9, preferably includes a multiplicity of such wires generating a skew surface forming a throat the radius of which (r on FIGS. 3 and 4) is smaller than radius R.

It will be understood that a socket made according to my invention can accommodate a pin or other plug-in member of any circular cross section of a radius ranging between R and r. On FIG. 4, I have shown the position of a wire 3 respectively in the state of rest (solid lines) and (in dotted lines) when subjected to the action of plug-in members 4-,, 4 the cross sections of which have respectively radiuses a and b. This figure shows that wire 3 is resiliently expanded between points 1 and 2 and includes two rectilinear portions connected together by a helically curved portion along which an intimate pressure contact is obtained between wire 3 and the plug-in member.

Thus, the contact wire or wires work in the most favorable manner to ensure a good electrical or thermal resilient contact between the plug-in member and the body of the socket.

Wires 3 are fixed to points i and 2 in any suitable manner, for instance by welding or setting but most advantageously by wedging.

For this purpose, according to the embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 2 and 3, wires 3 are fixed, at points 1 and 2, by wedging between a cylindrical sleeve 5 and two rings 6 and 7 driven on the ends of said sleeve, wires 3 passingfrom the inner side of sleeve 5 to the outer surface thereof by bending, as shown at 3,, against the edges of said sleeve 5.

in order to position the wires before fixation thereof to sleeve 5, I 'might provide the edges of said sleeve with notches intended to receive the bent ends 3,, of the wires. However, as illustrated by FIGS. 5 and 6, it is preferable to make use of a cylindrical support 8 the periphery of which is provided with grooves or slots 9 the bottom of each of which guides a wire 3 in the position it must occupy between the points of fixation to sleeve 5.

Grooves 9 may for instance, as shown by FIG. 7, be formed by means of a milling-wheel 10' the plane of rotation of which is oblique with respect to the axis of cylindrical support member =8 and which is displaced in a rectilinear manner in this plane.

Cylindrical sleeve 5 is slipped over supporting member 8 in the direction of arrow of FIG. 5. Wires 3 are introduced into grooves 9 and their ends 3,, are bent outwardly. Then the two rings 6 and 7 are driven on the end portions of sleeve 5', as shown by arrows f and f so as to wedge the ends 3,, of the wires on said sleeve. The supporting member 8 is then removed, leaving the tensioned wires in the form of a hyperboloid socket. Of

course, one of the rings, for instance 7, is provided with a recess 12 in which can be fixed a conductor 13.

The other ring 6 forms an opening for the removal of supporting member 8 and through which a pin 4 or other plug-in member can be introduced for contact against wires 3. This pin 4 has a recessed end 11 in which can be mounted another conductor 13.

In the construction of FIG. 8, wires 3 are secured at points corresponding to points 1 and 2 of FIG. 1 by wedging between a cylindrical sleeve 5,, and two rings 6,, 7 but, in this case, the wires 3 pass from the inside of sleeve 5,, to the outside thereof through skewed slots 14 provided in the wall of sleeve 5,, said wires extending beyond the respective edges of the slots and stopping short of the edges of said sleeve.

Slots 14 may be obtained by machining in the same manner as above stated concerning the grooves 9 of supporting member 8 of the preceding embodiment but, in the case of FIG. 8, the slots must extend through the sleeve 5,, so that the wires 3 can be stretched along straight lines between the ends of said slots for making resilient contact with the pin 4.

In order to make a socket according to the embodiment of FIG. 8, the rings 6,, and 7,, are first placed on the middle portion of sleeve 5,, (as shown in dotted lines); then wires 3 are engaged in the slots 14 and stretched, the ends of said wires extending from the slot ends to the outside of said slots and then over the outer surface of the end portions 15 of sleeve Rings 6,, and 7,, are then driven outwardly with respect to sleeve 5,, into the final positions shown in solid lines, thus wedging the ends 3 of the Wires between the end portions 15 of sleeve 5,, and the corresponding rings (i and 7,,.

Of course the contact between the socket and the plugin member instead of being electrical may be a thermal contact, the socket serving advantageously to evacuate the heat given off by a cylindrical element such as an electronic tube (for instance a thyratron) which constitutes the plug-in member. In this case, the rings mounted on the sleeve of the device are provided with cooling fins such as 16 (FIG. 9).

On FIG. 9, which corresponds to a construction similar to that of FIGS. 2 and 3 I have indicated the diameters 2R and 2;- which constitute the limits between which must be fixed the diameter of the electronic tube to be inserted in the socket.

A socket according to the present invention has the following advantages:

The contact wires are caused to expand but at a low rate which permits a great number of operations of the socket without variations of the characteristics thereof, the wear and tear which results from these operations, and which is very small, being automatically compensated for due to the resiliency of the wires;

When the socket is used for electrical punposes, the excellent contact between each wire and the plug-in member permits a high intensity of the current flowing from one to the other and a very small drop of the voltage;

The insertion and the extraction of the plug-in member requires relatively small efforts so that this operation can be efiected easily, even in the case of a multiplicity of plug-in members.

In a general manner, while I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and efficient embodiment of my invention, it should be well understood that I do not Wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

This application is a continuation of my copending application Serial No. 795,031 filed February 24, 1959 for Electrical Connector Socke now abandoned.

What I claim is:

'1. A socket intended to cooperate with a plugin member which comprises, in combination, a'rigid structure having two opposed holding portions, said holding por- ,4 tions being in the form of circles located in parallel respective planes and the respective centers ofwhich are located on an axis at right angles to said planes, and a multiplicity of contact wires each having one of its ends 5 secured to one of said holding portions and the other end secured to the other of said holding portions, said wires being stretched between said holding portions and extending at rest along straight lines which are generatrices of the same family of a hyperboloi-d of revolution about said axis, containing said two circles, and having its throat located between said circles, at least one of said holding portions surrounding an opening of said rigid structure for said plug-in member.

2. A socket according to claim 1 in which said two circles have the same radius.

3. A socket according to claim 1 in which said contact wires are of circular cross section.

4. A socket according to claim 1 in which the structure including the two opposed holding portions includes a being wedged between said sleeve and said rings.

5. A socket according to claim 4 in which the ends of the wires are bent around the edges of said sleeve to pass from the inside to the outer surface thereof Where they are wedged by said rings.

6. A socket according to iclaimi 4 in which said sleeve is provided with slots through which sm'd wires pass from the inside to the outer surface of said sleeve where they are wedged by said rings.

7. A socket intended to cooperate with a plugin mean? ber to form an electrical connector, comprising (a) a rigid sleeve of conducting material,

(b) contact structure mounted within said sleeve consisting of at least one resilient conducting wire,

(0) said wire (being attached at each end to the corresponding end of said sleeve at non-conforming points on the periphery of the sleeve ends so as to be held in tension,

(d) the aforesaid tensioned wire accordingly extending obliquely to the longitudinal axis of said sleeve so as to make limited-area, resilient pressure contact engagement with the aforesaid plug-in member as it is inserted into said sleeve.

4 8. A socket intended to cooperate with a plug-in mem ber to form an electrical connector, comprising (a) a rigid cylindrical sleeve of conducting material open at its opposite ends,

(b) contact structure mounted within said sleeve consisting of at least one resilient conducting wire extending between the ends of said sleeve in oblique relation to the longitudinal axis of said sleeve,

(0) and a wire-holding ring for positioning over each end of said sleeve,

(d) said wire being firmly secured at each end in stretched condition between a ring and the respective end of said sleeve,

(2) the ends of said stretched wire being attached EH11 non-conforming points along the circumferences of 6 the respective sleeve ends so that the wire makes limited-area resilient pressure contact with the aforesaid plug-in member as it is inserted into said sleeve.

9. A socket as specified in claim 1 wherein the holding portion surrounding the opening of the rigid structure for the plug-in member comprises a ring that is mounted firmly on said structure for securing the corresponding ends of the wires to said structure so as to hold them under tension.

10. A socket as specified in claim 1 wherein the rigid structure is a cylindrical sleeve and the holding portions comprise ring-like structures positioned respectively at opposite ends of the sleeve so as firmly to hold the corresponding ends of the contact wires in position between the ring-like structures and the sleeve.

11. A socket as specified in claim 1 wherein the socket cylindrical sleeve surrounding said wires and two rings driven on the ends of said sleeve, the ends of the wires and plug-in member constitute relatively movable con tacts of an electrical connector, in which the structure in cluding the two opposed balding portions includes :1 cylindrical sleeve surrounding said wires and a ring tightly positioned on each end of said sleeve, the ends of the wires 'being securely held between said sleeve and said rings respectively, the throat formed by said wires being variable in cross-sectional area to receive the plug-in contact for resilient contact engagement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wilhelm Nov. 24, 1931 Kennedy Oct. 11, 1932 Frank Jan. 13, 1948 Linn June 15, 1954 Love Aug. '18, 1959 Keller Jan. 3, 1961 

7. A SOCKET INTENDED TO COOPERATE WITH A PLUG-IN MEMBER TO FORM AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR, COMPRISING (A) A RIGID SLEEVE OF CONDUCTING MATERIAL, (B) CONTACT STRUCTURE MOUNTED WITHIN SAID SLEEVE CONSISTING OF A LEAST ONE RESILIENT CONDUCTING WIRE, (C) SAID WIRE BEING ATTACHED AT EACH END TO THE CORRESPONDING END OF SAID SLEEVE AT NON-CONFORMING POINTS ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE SLEEVE END SO AS TO BE HELD IN TENSION, (D) THE AFORESAID TENSIONED WIRE ACCORDINGLY EXTENDING OBLIQUELY TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID SLEEVE SO AS TO MAKE LIMITED-AREA, RESILIENT PRESSURE CONTACT ENGAGEMENT WITH THE AFORESAID PLUG-IN MEMBR AS IT IS INSERTED INTO SAID SLEEVE. 